Hi guys

I'm doing a paper for school and need to come up with some instances in which freedom of religion went wrong, so to speak. I'm referring specifically to things that happened in the U.S.

Stuff like Mormons (was it the mormons) sexually abusing their kids, for example.

Another example off the top of my head would be those Davidians that barricaded themselves in their house and had a three day shootout with FBI and ATF - in the end 120 people died in a big fire, many of those were children.

You get the idea.

It would be great if you could include some sources with your post.

Thanks a lot.

I wonder, would you do the same for me?

If I had knowledge on the subject and were a regular on this forum? Yes.

It's not like I'm asking you to write my paper for me, or do heaps of research...
All I'm saying is if you happen to know a couple of instances in which freedom of religion clearly went astray then you could simply refer me to it in a sentence or two.

A possible format could be:

"Yea, in 1972 there was this incident in Alabama involving members of the we-make-useless-posts group. It ended up turning into a massacre and everyone died. Check it out on wiki."

If that's too much to ask from you, Beany, then that's cool.

Here are a couple of items that go with the Branch Davidian theme:

Tony Alamo Ministries (http://www.tonyalamonews.com/)
Jonestown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown)

"Yea, in 1972 there was this incident in Alabama involving members of the we-make-useless-posts group.

Haha, okay.
Well nothing springs to mind but good luck.

I'm not sure if you're looking for fringe religions that have led to fucked up shit....but freedom of religion applies to majority religions too and obviously christianity and islam have many, many blemishes throughout their history. Just in the U.S., the killing of "witches" and catholic child abuse comes to mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

harassment.

"Shoko Asahara (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E3DE1E3CF93BA15751C0A9629C8B 63&sec=&spon=), the former leader of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, . . . masterminding the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995 that killed 12 people, injured 5,500 and shattered Japan's cherished self-image as one of the world's safest nations."


I consider materialism (http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/)to be a religion.


I really don't give a shit anymore, I now find the stupidity of our species as entertainment.
Things like 9/11, the Davidians, child molestation, fucking hilarious!

Thanks so much for all the replies!

Yes, I'm definitely interested in blemishes of the major religions as well. If anything comes to mind, please let me know.
Unfortunately I'm restricted to the USA though, so anything outside of it I won't be able to use.

Still thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it :)

Freedom of Religion has never been wrong. Only what people have done in the name of it has been wrong.

Jonestown is an excellent example.

If you have to read or present the paper before class....try to download a recording of what Jim Jones was preaching when he had mothers feed poison kool aid to their infants before they ingested it themselves.

Pretty powerful stuff.

Also there is a documentry out there about an organizaion known as The Family. It was a religious group that believed God wanted them to fuck their own children.

Jonestown is an excellent example.

If you have to read or present the paper before class....try to download a recording of what Jim Jones was preaching when he had mothers feed poison kool aid to their infants before they ingested it themselves.

Pretty powerful stuff.

Also there is a documentry out there about an organizaion known as The Family. It was a religious group that believed God wanted them to fuck their own children.

Correction, it was FLAVOR-AID, not kool-aid. And Jim Jones was actually a half decent guy before he want bat-shit crazy.

Also there is a documentry out there about an organizaion known as The Family. It was a religious group that believed God wanted them to fuck their own children.

!!!

I recently watched that on the History channel or Discovery channel - I forget which. (maybe it was TLC network).

That was the craziest shit I'd ever seen with my own two eyes. They also called themselves Children of God. Seeing the adult versions of the kids who survived through that debauchery was testament to the damage it did to them throughout their childhoods.

Testimonies of ex-members here (http://www.exfamily.org/index.htm). Put THAT in your paper, OP!

Correction, it was FLAVOR-AID, not kool-aid. And Jim Jones was actually a half decent guy before he want bat-shit crazy.

I don't give a shit if he and his wife were the first white couple in Indiana to adopt an African child. I don't care if they worked in the civil rights movement.

Anything good this man may have done in his life is erased by his child fucking, infantcide. I believe he only did "good" things so he could get a large enough flock that fucking and murdering it would be worthwhile.

He is the best example of the worst of the Christian faith.